120V plug's

Kraqa

Member
so i need to select a plug for my ZJ build. i want to put a few 120v outlets. There are a few out there. house plugs, OEM parts from modern vehicles or simple plugs.


or


i like the OEM style since it has a cover and an indicator light showing that power is flowing. but they are more expensive and require the purchase of a special plug to wire it.

any thoughts?
 

CampStewart

Observer
That Ford plug is rated for 150 watts which is next to nothing. The other is rated for 15 amps which would probably cover any load . How many watts or amps do you have available?
 

Kraqa

Member
i don't have an inverter yet. i was looking at a 1000watt pure sine wave. simply because that's the largest wattage inverter i could find that fits under my passenger seat.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
What are you planning on plugging in to it? Also do you have a high capacity alternator and a high amp hour battery? I would probably think about adding those before the inverter.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
The energy misers in the 12V/Solar subforum will likely tell you to 'right size' your inverter as the conversion costs energy / generates heat. Silly to run a 1000W inverter when you need just 12 watts for charging a phone. Typical advice is get a large inverter for large loads - say running power tools or something of that caliber of power draw and a smaller 12VDC socket plug-in inverter for much smaller loads like phones / tablets / laptops. Nice part about the later is they cost much less and you are out a lot less when they let out the magic smoke. And you'll need something in the middle size range for your glamping margarita blender

Too, avoid hard-wiring any inverters without having them on a cutoff switch, that includes handy USB charging outlets. They're a parasitic load just like a 'wall wart' for devices in your home. Doesn't take much to wind up with a dead car battery, especially if you park the vehicle for several days at a stretch.

All that said, I have all those things in my Suburban, as well as Aux Grp78 battery, rooftop solar passively charging that Aux all the time, and a 1000W inverter, and some Andersen modular connectors. And use them all.

subsmallcompressor.jpg
 

Paddler Ed

Adventurer
In Australia and the UK, they need to have particular sockets to ensure that when they are turned off, they are off - here they're referred to as double pole sockets.

When they're turned off, both the active and neutral pin holes are turned off, instead of just the one that a household socket would. This helps when there is a risk of reverse polarity; not sure if that's the same in the USA.
 

wirenut

Adventurer
What you are looking for a receptacle or outlet, the female part. A "plug" is the male prong part.
What you linked too looks like cheap plastic junk to me. Real outlets from quality manufacturers like Pass & Seymour, Hubbel, Leviton, etc. are readily available at Lowes, Home Depot, and Electrical Supply places. I would trust those way beyond one of those little plastic things.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
In Australia and the UK, they need to have particular sockets to ensure that when they are turned off, they are off - here they're referred to as double pole sockets.

When they're turned off, both the active and neutral pin holes are turned off, instead of just the one that a household socket would. This helps when there is a risk of reverse polarity; not sure if that's the same in the USA.

Don't you guys use 240v for house current? I would think you'd need a BIG inverter to get 220v AC power, wouldn't you?
 

FlipperFla

Active member
so i need to select a plug for my ZJ build. i want to put a few 120v outlets. There are a few out there. house plugs, OEM parts from modern vehicles or simple plugs.


or


i like the OEM style since it has a cover and an indicator light showing that power is flowing. but they are more expensive and require the purchase of a special plug to wire it.

any thoughts?
Try Blue Seas Systems. Bulletproof hardware.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Don't you guys use 240v for house current? I would think you'd need a BIG inverter to get 220v AC power, wouldn't you?

Double the volts, halve the amps. Plus a lot of 120v inverters are just two 60v wires out of phase with each other. Could just as easily be two 120v out of phase.

No reason a 1000w 240v inverter would be any bigger than a 1000w 120v inverter.
 

robert

Expedition Leader
Don't you guys use 240v for house current? I would think you'd need a BIG inverter to get 220v AC power, wouldn't you?


Most stuff here is 120V/60hz.

Unless you're really drawing some amps, stick to the smallest inverter that will work for you. The larger ones really suck down some juice and need upgraded alternators. The cheapy 400w that came in my Tacoma does most stuff I need it to which includes powering my fridge sometimes, charging the laptop (which needs 19v DC) and charging camera batteries. I added two square outlets similar to the first ones you posted on the passenger side of my center console and tied them into the factory inverter. I can charge two GoPro or Nikon batteries at the same time with no problems.
 

Paddler Ed

Adventurer
Don't you guys use 240v for house current? I would think you'd need a BIG inverter to get 220v AC power, wouldn't you?

Yep, 220-250V is the operating voltage for most stuff in Europe and Australia; inverters are as big as the Watts you need; we had a 60W can sized inverter that did fine running of the 12V lighter socket in the past; we now rarely use an inverter for anything, with most things we have running off of 12V or a USB socket.
 

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